DC Shuttle …
Administration Holds National Safe School Reopening Summit. The Biden administration and the U.S. Education Department held a National Safe School Reopening Summit, with remarks from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Welensky. At the summit, Cardona said that he expects 100% of schools will be open for in-person learning in the fall.
Ed Dept Announces Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative. Cardona announced that the Department of Education will fund a Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative with governors and state education officials, to help create plans for summer learning and enrichment programs serving students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The collaborative will assist states, school districts and others in planning how to use new relief funds, including the $1.2 billion earmarked for summer enrichment in the American Rescue Plan. The partnership includes the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, and will start in April, EdWeek reports.
Administration Releases Schools Funds from American Rescue Plan. The Biden administration announced that $81 billion of American Rescue Plan funds were released to all 50 States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to support their efforts to get students back in the classroom for in-person learning. The legislation provides $122 billion in relief for Pre-K-12 schools and $81 billion will be made available to states immediately. The Department of Education is encouraging states to develop and implement plans to immediately utilize that funding to get more schools opened, with the remainder of the funds becoming available after states submit the plans they are developing.
We publish the DC Shuttle each week Congress is in session featuring higher ed news from Washington collected by the New England Council, of which NEBHE is a member. This edition is drawn from the Higher Education Update in the Council’s Weekly Washington Report of March 29, 2021. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
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